The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (922 page)

 
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(Arab.). Pilgrimage to
Mecca
, specifically to the
Ka‘ba
, during the month
Dh
’l-
ijja
. This is one of the
Five Pillars of Islam
, a duty ordered in the
Qur’
n
(3. 91/97). This is incumbent upon every adult free Muslim, of sound mind, with sufficient funds to cover his journey and the expenses of his family during his absence.
Women
should be suitably escorted.
The general term
ajj includes the ‘umra (lesser pilgrimage) to the Ka‘ba, which can be performed at any time of the year but does not itself fulfil the obligations of
ajj.
The area around Mecca is designated
ar
m
(holy); the male pilgrim on reaching the boundary exchanges his usual clothes for two pieces of white cloth, covering the upper and lower parts of the body, and wears sandals; women, also in white, cover their whole body except face and hands. The pilgrim has now entered the state of
i
r
m
, and until the end of the
ajj ceremonies he must not put on other clothes, wear shoes, cut nails or hair, engage in sexual relations, take part in arguments, fighting, nor hunting of game. The
talb
yah
is repeated frequently.
In Mecca itself the pilgrim goes first to the
Masjid
al-
ar
m for the rites of
aw
f